Dammit Ashelin!
by Illaeshin
Summary: Poisoned, blackmailed, pissed off, Jak lets Ashelin know he doesn't appreciate her weapons being aimed at him mid-race. Rated for some swearing. (obviously) Takes place during Jak X. {TornXAshelin} Complete.


Dammit Ashelin!

"What the Hell are you doing?!" Daxter's shrill voice cut through the explosions and screaming wheels. They were intact, barely. Wrenching hard on the steering wheel, Jak spun their car in a hard turn and raced forward. Making up for lost time and ground was going to be rough, and more than one car was going to burn for it.

As if being poisoned and blackmailed into racing in this stupid circuit wasn't enough, his own teammate was trying to knock him out of first place! "Dammit, Ashelin!"

Jak had to bite back a curse as a rough voice crackled over the headset.  
"Jak! Hey! You okay?" It was Torn.

"Fine, but I'm gonna kill your girlfriend!" The blond elf snarled back, feeling dark eco creeping up in his system as a vehicle in front of him exploded.

"What?!"

"Just keep outta the way, Torn!" Daxter screamed, slapping off the comm. "Don't bother talking, Jak. Just race! So long as one of us gets in First, we'll be fine." The ottsel was hanging onto the roll cage for dear life as they sped through the sandy streets of Spargus. Letting out a growl, Jak jumped his car onto the upper track, aiming to cut some corners and get back in the lead.

Glancing down at the street, he could see the streak of red that was Ashelin's car. Baring his teeth, Jak fired off some yellow eco, listening as gravel and sand screeched beneath hastily turning tires. Ashelin had the nasty habit of thinking she was in charge, and a better racer; and she had pushed him one time too many. They were _all_ poisoned, they were all racing for their lives. Why couldn't she just work _with_ him, instead of trying to do it all herself?!

Rejoining the main pack, dodging eco and picking up what he could, a flash of red caught the corner of his eye. Without thinking, another weapon was fired off. The female's car spun out in a splash of dust and sand.

"Jak! Ease up on the Eco! You'll get overloaded!" Daxter's voice was shrill with fear as dark eco arced off their car, burning anything it touched. "I'm beggin' ya! Don't lose it now!"

"I'll be fine, Dax!" Jak retorted, reaching up to put a hand on his friend's back, keeping him in place as the car skidded into a power slide. Tires screaming, the blue eco gauge filling, Jak could feel the adrenaline mixing with the eco in his body. He'd apologize later. Maybe.

"Gotcha!"  
As Shiv's car wrecked into a wall, yellow eco burning across the frame, Jak dropped a few more eco mines across the turn. Those behind would hit them, or as they finished the last lap, the front runners would find them.

Crossing the starting line, entering the final lap of the course, Jak knew he was at least three cars behind, one of them being Ashelin. How she had maintained the lead, he had no idea, but he wasn't about to let that go lightly. If she won, fine, but he was not going to forgive her for the crap she was pulling. Not without some serious begging.

"Jak! Eco! Knock it off!" Daxter yelled, his thick tail connecting with the side of Jak's head. The bolts of dark eco subsided, and the elf glanced up at the ottsel. Eyes forward, Daxter had all five limbs wrapped securely around the bar he was on, watching for mines, and incoming missiles. Taking a deep breath, Jak fought to push the anger away. He owed it to Daxter. The poison was going to work a lot faster on the much smaller ottsel. _I can't let him die._

Pushing the pedal to the floor, taking a corner dangerously fast, Jak maneuvered the car expertly between Cutter and Edge, shoving the later into a rocky outcropping. Up ahead, he could see the plume of dust that showed Ashelin's position. She had a good lead.

The thought of just keeping Cutter from getting at his teammate crossed Jak's mind, but only for a moment. An explosion up ahead snapped him back to the race and then Ashelin's car was tumbling side over end, her right flank burning from the mine she had hit. A mine Jak had set.

Grinning like a devil, Jak forced Cutter back, dropping several more mines to keep his back clear. "Keep outta my way!" Jak growled, knowing the headset was on, and that Ashelin, if she were conscious, would hear him. As the finish line came into view, Jak kicked open the car's blue eco vents, giving their battered vehicle a much needed burst of speed. Cutter was close behind, and Shiv had gotten back in the race as well. But it was too late for them.

Lights flashed as he and Daxter blew past the checkered flag. Throwing a fist in the air, sliding the car to a stop in the pit, Jak stood up, Daxter jumping onto his shoulder. Leaping from the driver's seat, he went to the entrance of the pit, watching Torn roll in. The older elf always raced safe, harassing and stalking the enemy racers, keeping them occupied while Jak focused on taking first. Winning the race had taken some of the edge of his anger, but not all of it. Not by a long shot.

"Dammit, Ashelin! You do that again—" Jak paused as Torn looked back at the track and finish line. Only eleven racers had crossed, and only two of Jak's team were present.

"Where's Ashelin?" Torn asked, looking at Jak and Daxter.

"You gotta talk to your girl, Torn! She's picking fights she can't win!" Daxter spoke up before Jak could. "Seriously! What's the point of blowing us out of first place? She's not a team player, and neither is Jak when ya piss him off and give him dark eco!"

"Just go get her Torn. We still need her." Jak muttered, turning to head for the garage. The race was done, they had won, and tomorrow's race would come soon enough.

* * *

Now that the race was officially over, Torn took his vehicle back out onto the track. He hoped Ashelin was okay, but he had talked himself through the possibility of finding her body, charred in the burnt out remains of a vehicle. If that was what he found, Torn didn't know if he'd be able to keep working with Jak. It was one thing to be angry about a cheap shot, another entirely to get your teammate killed.

Rounding a corner, Torn hit the brakes hard, skidding to a stop. There was Ashelin's car, wedged between a wall and several large boulders. And there she was, sitting in the seat, staring forward, leaning her head against her hand. Frozen for a moment, Torn felt himself start breathing again as Ashelin blinked.

"Hey, you alright?" He asked, jumping out of his car and climbing into hers. Looking her over as she didn't move or respond, searching for injuries, Torn finally looked closer at her face.

Shock. She was in shock, or just utterly stopped by Jak's ferocity. He never expected to see Ashelin Praxis shell-shocked. It was a little unnerving. "You'll be alright. Come on." Grabbing her arms, Torn hauled the female up and settled her on his back. She moved only a little to lock her arms around his neck and lay her head on his shoulder. Carrying her back to his car, setting her down gently on the second seat— and Daxter had laughed at him for that feature— he drove carefully back to the garage.

"You gotta stop picking fights with Jak. I know he's our friend, and teammate, but I don't trust that dark eco. The last thing I want is to kill him for killing you, alright?" He couldn't look at her as he spoke. The idea that he— Torn, a former Crimzon Guard and freedom fighter, could kill the most resilient, and terrifying elf in all creation was laughable.

Pulling into the bay, he shut the vehicle off and picked up Ashelin again. "We're not going to see the others tonight. You don't need to be yelled at." A small grin was picking at his lips. It was far too rare to see such a quiet and docile attitude out of his girlfriend. It was also sad.

"I'll talk to Jak. We'll get through this. All of us— we'll all get through this." Repeating that phrase to himself over and over was the only Torn was staying sane. If he didn't believe they'd come out of this death trap alive, he'd be consumed by anger too.

In their room, Torn set Ashelin down on the bed, and pulled a blanket up over her shoulders. Shock of this nature had a few remedies, but mostly he just had to wait for her to snap out of it. And who knew what her mood would be like when she did. If she thought she was going to go confront Jak tonight— Well, Torn was prepared to keep that from happening. Fixing a simple meal, he was shaken from his thoughts by Ashelin's voice.

"Torn?" He hadn't expected her to talk so soon.

"Yeah?" Turning to look at her, all the stubbornness and fire he had built up in preparation for the fight and argument he was sure was coming evaporated. Her green eyes, usually bright with energy and defiance, were subdued and scared. Coming over to her, sitting down next to her, Torn pulled her close. "You alright?" He asked, slightly unnerved.

"Was he . . . himself?" Her voice was quiet, as though she were afraid that even speaking about Jak would make him appear. When did the short-tempered, small-framed, blond elf become the boogey man?

"He was. He was pissed though." Torn replied, trying to be detached about the whole incident.

Ashelin leaned against him, her red hair brushing across his back. "When— When did that kid get so ruthless?" She shivered. "I didn't think he was capable of—"

"Jak's done a lot of things, and been in a lot of wars. I'm sure the dark eco didn't help, but over the years, he's grown hard, like everyone else." Thinking back to their first meeting, Torn shook his head slightly. Jak was still cocky, and damn strong, and clever, but for his sake, Torn hoped that the smaller elf wouldn't get any worse. It wasn't a good road to travel, especially when you could still care about others, and there were still good friends around. "Let's watch each other's backs; be a real team. If you're in first, I'll guard you, and you do the same for me. And we both do that for Jak."

Slowly, Ashelin nodded. "It's hard, relying on someone else to keep me alive." The admission was quiet.

"You don't seem to mind when it's me." Torn let a small smile curl one side of his lips.

The female at his side shifted, one hand coming up to rest on his chest. "You're different." Another quiet admission.

"I know. Let's just get through this in one piece. Then we're going vacation." Chuckling a little, Torn pulled Ashelin into his lap. "Just leave Jak alone, and you'll be fine. I'll take care of you."

Slowly, Ashelin nodded again. "Yeah."

Holding her close, tucking her head under his chin, he had to wonder if he was telling the truth, or just wishing for such an outcome.

 _We'll all get through this. I trust Jak, though Precursors know I probably shouldn't. But he's never let me down before._ Looking at the female in his arms, Torn prayed that Jak wouldn't start now. They needed Jak to win. There was no other option. Krew couldn't have known how dangerous Jak would get, so maybe he had just gambled on having a strong team to blackmail. No one would ever know, but Torn knew, without a doubt, that Jak would be the one to pull them through this.

As Ashelin's began to fall asleep, Torn laid back on the bed, shifting her against his side. "We'll all get through this." He murmured. Closing his grey eyes, he sought the usual restless sleep. A new day and a new race would come soon enough.

End  
~*~

A/N:

Well, that got more serious than I intended! It was supposed to be amusing all the way through!

So this scenario, in part, actually happened. A friend and I were playing Jak X, had a commanding lead, then Ashelin blew us up. We got back in the race, caught up, and then blew up Ashelin. We finished in first, but Ashelin never crossed the finish line. And we waited for nearly five minutes for her to show up! She never did. So we decided she was shell-shocked, and Torn had to go get her. ^~^


End file.
